Removable denture



Aug. 21, 1928.. 1,681,323

I H. E. s. CHAYES REMOVABLE DENTURE Filed July 1919- 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 21, 1928. 1 -,ss1,323

H. E. S. CHAYES REMOVABLE DENTURE Filed m 9, 1919 2 sham-sum 2 Patented Aug. 21, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE...

HERMAN E. S. GEAYES', OF NEW YORK, NLY.

REMOVABLE DENTU'RE.

a of this character.

Another objectis to provide a connection which will securely hold the denture in place, but which will enable the denture to be read-' ily and easily removed;.a still further object is to so construct the connection that itwill automatically take up and allow for wear between the parts.

Considered generally, in a removable denture connection ing interfitting head and socket parts, one carried by the denture and the'other carried by the pier, the head member consisting of a folded strip of flat spring metal, usua ly of substantially T shape and the socket being shaped to receive the head of said member and slotted in the exposed side thereof to ieceve the stem or shank portion of the In addition to the interfitting head and socket elements I sometimes provide interfitting in-and-socket members on the two relative y separable parts.

Another feature of the invention is the making of the connection in a form to provide distal extension for breaking stress.

Other features of the invention will appear as the specification proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated the invention embodied in several different forms and would have it understood that the invention is susceptible of further modification without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a more or less diagrammatic view showing a denture in the form of an anterior bridge in position between the pier teeth; Figure 2 is a detached plan view of the bridge; Figure 3 is a broken perspective view of the pier teeth at one end of the bridge; Figure 4: is an enlarged sectional view of the p er tooth which carries the socket and the ad acent portion of the bridge; Figure 5 1s a detail end view of the head member and the the invention resides embody- 1919. Serial No. 809,681.

connection; Figure 6 is a detail viewof the pier tooth looklng toward the open side of the socket; Flgure 7 is a detail view of a preferred form of'head member; Figure 8 is a view of the socket lining or jacket therefor; Figure 9 is a detail plan View of these parts as in use; Figure 10 is a detail view of the head element shown in Figures 1 and 2; Figure 11 is a further enlarged view of this construction as applied to the denture when 1n use; Figure 12 is a cross sectional View of the same illustratingthe rocking engagement of the parts; Figure 13 is a longitudinal sectional View of the head member of this construction.

In the case illustrated the removable denture is shown in the form of an anterior bridge 18 engaged and supported between the pier teeth19.

Theseparable connection by which these parts are joined consists, in the form shown,

of a substantially T-shaped member 20 se-"*' cured at each end of the bridge and fitting in a correspondingly shaped socket 21 formed in an inlay secured to the adjacent pier tooth. The head or T-shaped member is produced in this form by bending a flat strip of spring sheet metal upon itself to form a shank portion 22 of double thickness and a head portion 23 also of double thickness, the wings of said head portion diverging or projecting from the ends of the shank portion at slight obtuse angles, as indicated in Figures 2 and 10, said head portions flattening out as they engage in the sockets as indicated in Figure 1, and thereby exerting a binding force upon the Walls of the sockets. These T-shaped elements are made of suitable spring metal and the socket 5' members are made relatively rigid so as not to be deformed by the spring tendency of the T-heads. The sides of the head of the T-shaped members are shown in Figure 5 as slightly rounded at 24 to permit of a certain rocking movement within the socket, the movement permitted preferably substantially corresponding to the movement of the natural tooth. The socket member is provided with a slot such as indicated at 25 in the open side thereof to admit the shank portion of the T-head.

As additional securing means I may provide in some cases a pin-and-slot connection between the bridge and supporting member at a point adjacent to the T connection described. This feature is disclosed part1cularly in Figures 3 and 4 where 26 indicates a pin bound on the stationary coping 27 adjacent the socket in the pier tooth, the adjoining end portion of the bridge having a corresponding socket 28 therein to lit over said pin. This provides a particularly se cure connection between the removable denture and its support, and at the same time this construction permits of the ready disengagement of the denture when desired. The T-shaped connecting member shown in Figures 7 and 9 is produced by simply doubling a strip of flat sheet spring metal upon itself to form a shank portion 29 and then bending the ends of said doubled strip in opposite directions to form the angularly outstanding wings 30, these Wings, as before preferably standing normally at slight obtuse angles to the stem to thereby exert a frictional gripping force against the walls of the receiving socket. It will be clear from Figure 1 that with this single thickness of metal in the head of the T- shaped member the socket in the inlay need not be so deep and consequently the structure of the pier tooth need not be cut away so much in this form as with the form first described. Also, there is greater resiliency and flexibility in this single thickness construction.

In Figure 8 I have shown one of the jackets 31 which forms the socket proper and which is secured in the inlay 3:2 as clearly shown in Figure 9.

Figures ll, 12 and 13 show on a further enlarged scale the construction and engagement of the connecting parts, Figure 12 showing particularly the manner of rounding oil the contacting edges of the head member to permit of the natural rocking of the teeth during mastication etc. These views also show how the stem may be cut down or narrowed in width at one edge or the other as indicated at 33 to facilitate the connection of the same with the member with which it is associated.

I claim In combination, a pier and a removable denture, said pier having a socket with an open-ended slot in the exposed side thereof and a cooperating substantially T-shaped connecting member on the denture having a shank received in the slot in the side of the socket and angularly outstanding spring wings yieldingly engaging in the body of the socket, a relatively stationary pin adjacent the pier and a socket on the denture positioned "to fit said pin.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HERMAN E. S. CHAYES. 

